Free The Marshal's Hostage by Delores Fossen

get out, and Joelle didn’t seem so anxious to do that, either.
    “Would Lindsey have done this on her own, without Owen’s order?” Dallas asked.
    She paused. “Maybe. Probably,” Joelle amended a moment later. “I believe she’s in love with Owen so who knows—this might have been her way of stopping the ceremony.”
    “Does Lindsey know that Owen forced you into this engagement?”
    Joelle shook her head. “I doubt Owen shared that with anyone. He would want everyone to believe that I’m marrying him for love.”
    Good point. Yeah, Owen’s ego would have insisted on that. “Could Lindsey have been the one to hire those men in the woods?”
    Joelle blinked. “Why wouldn’t you believe Owen did that?”
    “I do think it was him, but I have to look at this the way my boss will. And Saul will want to know if there was someone other than Owen with means, motive and opportunity to drug you and send out those gunmen.”
    She made a sound of agreement, then groaned. “Lindsey fits the bill on all counts. She comes from a wealthy family so she’d have the funds to hire gunmen. She’s also in love with Owen. And hates me. She could have called the goons as soon as you took me out of the church.” But then, Joelle shook her head. “Still, it all goes back to Owen. I mean, why would Lindsey want those men to force me back to the church?”
    Unfortunately, Dallas could think of a reason. “Maybe they weren’t instructed to take you to the church. Maybe they were hired to make sure you never married Owen.”
    And if so, perhaps they really had orders to kill her.
    Of course, there was that part about a dirty little secret. Dallas wanted to ask Joelle if Lindsey would have known anything about that. Or had Owen known? But Joelle had made it pretty clear that particular subject wasn’t up for discussion.
    Not now, anyway.
    But soon, very soon, Dallas would need to hear it in case it was somehow connected to this mess of an investigation.
    “Owen certainly had the means to hire those men,” Joelle continued. “And more.”
    Yeah. Dallas was aware of that. Right after he’d finished college, Owen had married the only daughter of one of the richest ranchers in Texas, and both father and daughter had died in a car accident less than a year later. As the sole heir, Owen had inherited the successful ranch along with about twenty million dollars.
    That could buy a lot of gunmen.
    “You’ve stayed in touch with Owen all these years?” he asked.
    “No.” A quick answer, and she made a face as if the idea was an unpleasant one. “He’s called a time or two and dropped by my office once, but I was never interested in seeing or hearing from Owen.”
    “Yet he found a way to tangle you in his life.” And tangle in a bad way. In addition to the dirty little secret conversation, Dallas would need to see the evidence Joelle had found that would incriminate the piece of scum who was blackmailing her into marriage.
    “It’s a nice place,” Joelle said when Dallas opened his truck door.
    Dallas followed her gaze to the white limestone house. It wasn’t a new structure. The ranch had been in Kirby’s family for six generations.
    “Most people just describe it as big, ” he mumbled. And it seemed to be constantly growing. After Kirby had taken him and his five foster brothers in, he’d added a second floor and expanded the kitchen and living areas.
    Joelle got out slowly, and even though she was no longer wobbling when she walked, her steps were tentative. “I’m still not sure this is a good idea.”
    Before Dallas could remind her again that they were short on options, the front door opened and Declan stepped onto the porch that stretched across the entire front of the house.
    “Joelle,” Declan greeted. He said her name with some disdain. No doubt because of her inquiry that could ultimately burn Kirby.
    Dallas frowned, grabbed her overnight bag and joined them. Joelle looked a little hurt by Declan’s